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Home » Animals

15 Interesting Facts About Horses

Published: Jan 4, 2021 by Alka Polischuk · This post may contain affiliate links

There's more to horses than their majestic look. You might want to get to know them more with these 15 interesting facts about them!

#1 Horses are called different names depending on their gender

girl walking with a horse in the field
A male horse is called a stallion and a female horse is a mare. A male horse which has been castrated is known as a gelding.

#2 Baby horses even have different names!

Horse wearing a sweater
Young horses have different names – a young male is called a colt and the young females are fillies.

#3 New-born horses can walk shortly after birth

Horse crossing the water in the forest with a kid riding on his back
Baby horses can walk and run after just a few hours of being born

#4 There are fewer bones in a horse than in humans

silhouette of a horse and girl by the lake
It’s only one boneless, but in total, there are 205 bones in the skeleton of a horse.

#5 The oldest horse lived over twice as long than he was supposed to

Horse with a girl rider
Horses that have been tamed usually live to be around 25 years old.
However, the oldest domestic horse on record was Old Billy, who died at the age of 62.

#6 Horses can sleep standing up or lying down

Horse running in the field
Many people think that when a horse is lying down that means it’s sick.
However, these creatures can sleep either standing up or lying down.

#7 Horses have a lookout…

black and white photo of a horse
A group of horses will not go to sleep at the same time – at least one of them will stay awake to watch out for the others.

#8 Horses don’t smile to show happiness

Horse eating grass
Horses are often seen in photographs “laughing” or “smiling”, but this movement is actually to help them smell better

#9 Their diet is plant-based

Horse jumping towards the fence
Horses only eat plants, making them herbivores.

#10 The fastest horse ran over double the usual speed!

a girl in white dress with a horse behind her
For a regular horse, their top speed is approximately 27 miles per hour, although the fastest horse ever recorded could reach 55 miles per hour!

#11 There’s no need to worry about the horse population…

Horse running in the field
There are an estimated 60 million horses in the world, combining wild and domesticated horses.

#12 Horses have exceptional vision!

a girl riding a horse in the forest
The eyes of a horse are bigger than those of any other land mammal, and the fact they are located on the side of their heads means they can see almost 360 degrees.

#13 Horses can’t see in full-color

Horse with man sitting on its back
Experts used to believe that horses were completely color-blind, although this has now been disproven.
They can, however, see certain colors a lot clearer than others.

#14 Horses float when they run

man feeding a horse
Well, sort of! When a horse gallops, all four hooves are off the ground at one point.

#15 Their teeth take up tons of room

Horse jumping over the fence
A horse has huge teeth! The space occupied by the teeth is greater than that occupied by the brain.
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